Claire Calalo, Artistic Director

Claire Calalo is a San Francisco Bay Area choreographer and the founder of for change dance collective (fcdc). She graduated from Santa Clara University in 2007 with a double degree in Dance and Biology, and credits her drive to integrate passions for dance and the pursuit of social justice to the education and mentorship she received there. Claire holds an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of California at Irvine, where she studied technique and choreography with Loretta Livingston, Donald McKayle, and Jodie Gates, among other esteemed faculty. By cultivating a unique choreographic method she refers to as “democratic dance-making,” Claire’s work attempts to explore an intersection between the inclusivity and humanistic ideals of collaborative practices often found in community dance settings, and the highest artistic standards of professional concert dance. As a dance maker, teacher, and dance advocate, Claire’s greatest joy comes from witnessing the small discoveries we make about ourselves when we move. She believes that in these expressive moments, we find our purpose, our joy, our identity, and ultimately come to understand more about ourselves and about each other.

Claire is an Adjunct Lecturer in modern dance at Santa Clara University and the Cultural Arts Program Director at East Oakland Sports Center, where she teaches modern, ballet, jazz, and hip hop. She has danced professionally with Angela Demmel & Dancers, Sue Li Jue’s Facing East Dance & Music, Nina Haft & Company, Nhan Ho Project, and Lauren Baines Dance/Theatre. In 2009 she performed and presented choreographic work at The International Festival for Composers in southern Spain with Lisa Naugle’s DTM2 Improvisation Ensemble, and presented her research paper “One Nation Under Art: Using International Dance Outreach to Establish Foundations for Social Justice” at the 23rd World Congress on Dance. She has taught and performed in Nicaragua, Belize, and throughout California.

Claire also proudly serves as the Project Director for Works in the Works, the longest running low-tech performance series in the Bay Area. See http://www.worksintheworks.org